"God
dwells in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar." - St. Maximilian Kolbe: (1894 – 1941: Polish Conventual Franciscan friar,
who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the German death camp of Auschwitz)
Gospel text (LK: 10,38-42): As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He entered a village and a
woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister named Mary who
sat down at the Lord's feet to listen to his words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy
with all the serving and finally she said, «Lord, don't you care that my sister
has left me to do all the serving?». But the Lord answered, «Martha, Martha,
you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed.
Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her».
In our society, busyness and accomplishments are rewarded to the extent that we cannot sit in silence or relax. We often over-extend ourselves to the detriment of our relationships with friends, family and God. We may know our priorities are out of kilter, but we make excuses such as, “I have so much I have to get done” or “There is no one else to do this.” The busyness has become so much a part of our lives that it even creeps into our spiritual life. We go to church, say our prayers, help with parish activities and volunteer to meet the needs of the community. These are all good things, but there needs to be time when we can “make the better choice,” times when we can sit in silence and listen to the individual message that Jesus wants to share with each of us.
Jesus is not saying that Mary is the better person, but just for that time she has made the better choice. In each of us there needs to be a balance between the practical activities of Martha and the quiet listening of Mary. We need to take the time to listen to Jesus telling each of us how much he loves us. It is the awareness and acceptance of His love that will enable us to share that love while performing all of the activities.
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